The Odds Are Never In My Favour
by TeenageTimeTraveler
Summary: Dahlia is picked for the 76th Annual Hunger Games, still reeling from the disappearance of her best friend Peeta and his fiancee Katniss, and sent to the arena to fight to the death. But she has a secret - one that means the odds may well be in her favour
1. Morning

I lie in bed, staring at my ceiling. It's early. But then, I always wake early on Reaping Days. Usually the nightmares shock me awake, as they did this morning. Nightmares of getting chosen, being pulled up onto the stage and then taken into the arena to die. Every year has signalled a different death - shot by an arrow, mutilated with an axe, poisened by berries - I hate to think about them for too long.

As the sunlight begins to creep through the thin blue curtains of my room, I sit up in bed, expecting to see my mother asleep in the bed next to me, but she isn't there. I hear pans in the kitchen, and realise that she's already up.

Pulling on a simple blue vest top and black trousers I enter the main room to see my older brothers, Palmer and Oleaster, sat looking gravely into their bowls. It's just a simple porridge made of grain today, as usual, but no one's eating.

"Dahlia, dear," my mother smiles. "You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep." I murmur.

She nods, understanding. It may be my last year of being in the Reaping, but I am still nervous. Everyone is. Palmer and Oleaster aren't in the Reaping anymore, Palmer being 19 years old, and Oleaster 21. I am only 18, however, and therefore still young enough to be in the games.

"I gave your dress to Hazelle yesterday." My mother says. "You should go and get it from her now."

I nodded, and pulled on a black leather jacket. I pick up the pile of dresses from the table next to my chair and put them in a black bag, neatly folded. I left without saying anything, shutting the door lightly behind me. We live in the Merchant, and Hazelle and her family live in The Seam, so I have to walk past the town square and out of The Merchant to get there. As I walk through I square, though it's early morning, large scaffolding and pillars are being errected outside the Justice Building for the Reaping. The Peacekeepers stand with guns by their sides and dressed in pristine, white uniforms, and their presence urges me on quickly. In a few minutes I have reached the Seam and Hazelle's house.

Knocking on the door, I notice the curtains aren't open, and I wonder if I'm too early. I turn round, looking back towards The Merchant, wondering if I should just go home. But then I heard the look and the door, and the jingle of keys, and the door is pulled open to reveal a graved-face Gale.

"Dahlia?" He asks.

"I brought your clothes back." I say, handing him the black bag. He takes it, and nods. "And your mom has my dress for the..." I trail off, looking at him. He nods again.

"Mom?" He calls, turning back to the house.

I see her get up from where I stand outside, with a small Posy in her arms. I smile as she gurgles.

There was no feeling of friendship between myself and Gale today. None of what we have experienced for the past few months. Why? Because the Reaping has consumed everything. Today is not a day for obvious friendship, because if you open yourself up too much, you're more likely to get hurt. Tomorrow would be a different story. We would laugh and joke, talk for a while. I would probably go inside to play with Posy, or help Hazelle with some of the washing, but not today. I have things I need to do. People I need to see.

"Here you go, dear." Hazelle smiles, handing me my dress. She has no bag to put it in, but I don't mind.

"Keep the bag." I say, pointing to the sack in Gale's arms, and turn to leave.

"Lia!" He calls, when I'm 20 yards or so away.

I turn, strands of blonde hair flying loose from my ponytail as I do.

"I'll see you later." He says.

I nod. "Fifteen minutes?"

"Ten." He replied, and I nod again, turning and beginning to walk home.

I head back toward The Merchant, and into the square, where banners with the Capitol's symbol on are already being put up on the scaffolding.  
The Peacekeepers don't give me a second glance as I walk quickly through the square, to home. 


	2. The Forest

Ten minutes later, and I'm sneaking out of my back door and down the path leading to the Seam. It's isn't well used, so only a faint track remains,  
but I know it by heart. My memory has improved vastly since I found that place. They train me to remember, to take in everything, to not simply see, but to observe. It's doing wonders for me.

Stumbling through the knots of grass, I eventually reach the joining of The Seam and The Merchant, and see Gale waiting for me. I smile, and he smiles back, though I can tell that it's forced.

"Let's go." He says, stepping into the grass behind the houses and towards the fence.

I nod, and follow a few steps behind.

We pause at the fence, listening for the lively hum of electricity through the metal wire. The fence is only ever wired up a few hours a day,  
usually in the afternoon, though it's meant to be on 24 hours.

"Ladies first." Gale, says, holding out his arm to the fence.

I roll my eyes, smiling slightly as he laughs and duck under the fence. I go between two of the wire, throwing one leg through first, and the flattening out my back so that I only have to step through. Gale follows suit, using the same method as me, and together we move into the forrest.

There's no path to lead us to the lake, but we know the way. We move quickly, knowing that it will take us a while to get there and we have other places to be. I stumble once, hitting my foot on a rock hidden in the grass, and feel a strong arm around me, propping me back up. I smile at him,  
and we carry on.

As we reach the lake, we look for signs of smoke coming from the small, concrete cabin by it, though Katniss would be smarter than to let smoke out from the cabin, were someone could find it, and come looking for her. So we continue the small journey to the hut, and I allow Gale to go first.

He presses open the door, gently, in case they may be sleeping. But when I peek into the hut past his arm, I see that it's empty. I sigh. Gale holds the door open for a moment longer, as if wishing them to appear. But they don't. And he closes the door.

"We'll have to get back, then." He says.

I look at the sky. "Reaping's not till noon." I say. "It's only ten o'clock. We could go somewhere? Or atleast take our time?"

Gale looks at me, and for a moment, I feel stupid. Why would he want my company? I'm just Peeta's friend, the girl who wants to find his best friend's boyfriend. Just a girl from the Merchant who mends dresses. Just a frequent client of his mother's. Nothing more. Not his friend.

But then he smiles, and nods, and every previous thought is blown out of the water. "Sure." he says, and holds out his hand to me. I take hold of it, smiling, and begin the walk back to the fence slowly. 


	3. The House

We reached the fence after an hour of rambling through the forrest, stopping to look at plants and animals, and checking snares. We found a Dahlia plant, to which Gale laughed, and said, "It's a shame when you're name-sake's prettier than you."

I had punched his arm and dragged him onward, but not before he could pull one of the flowers from the plant and tuck it behind my ear.

"You should wear it to the Reaping." He said. "Effie'll love it."

I had laughed, and burshed a lock of blonde hair behind my ear.

The electricty was still off when we reached the fence, so I ducked under first, and Gale followed quickly. We jogged to the back of the houses,  
finding the empty house that used to belong to Katniss, which she had informed Gale he could use, before she went for the Quarter Quell. He pushed open the back door, and it opened with a creak. It obviously hadn't been opened in a while.

This was a place we always checked too - if Katniss and Peeta were to return, out o the blue, they would either go to the hut by the lake or Katniss' old house. They certainly wouldn't return to the Victor's Village. But when we entered, we found no one.

I sighed again, and sat down on the sofa in the living room while Gale went to check the bedroom, but I knew it would be in vain. Sitting sideways on the sofa, with my back to the arm, I rested my head on the back of it. Gale came into the room and sat down next to me, taking hold of my hand and fiddling with it.

When Katniss and Peeta had gone away for the 74th Hunger Games, we had found comfort in eachother. He being Katniss' best friend, and me Peeta's, we both felt hurt and upset with the show they put on. I had liked Peeta for years - never admitting it to him, knowing that he loved Katniss - so it shouldn't of hurt. But it did. And it hurt for Gale too. Which is why we would escape together, to get away from the games, when we had had enough. And then when the 75th Hunger Games came, and Katniss and Peeta were sent off again, we seeked comfort and support from one another. If anything, their disappearance had brought us closer.

"What time is it?" I murmur.

"Just after eleven." Gale replies, looking over my head and out of the window behind me.

"We have to go." I say, still keeping a low tone.

He nods, but doesn't let go of my hand. I know what he's thinking.

"It's my last year." I say. "What are the chances of it being me?"

"Same as every year." He replies, also in a low tone. "More so. Did you sign up for tesserae?"

I nod. He sighs. "How many times is your name in there now?"

I think for a moment. "40."

"It shouldn't be that high." He says. "I told you not to buy for Posy. We had enough."

"No you didn't." I reply, shaking my head. "Only Rory could sign up this year, you needed it."

He looks over my head at the walls, obviously upset with me. His eyes flick down and meet mine, and he sighs. He holds his arms out to me, letting go of my hand, and I move into them.

"Hey," I say, as I rest my head on my chest, and put on my best Capitol accent. "The odds are ever in my favour, hm?"

Gale laughs for a moment, and then resumes fiddling with my hair in silence.

"I have to go." I mumble.

His grip on me tightens for a second, and then he pulls away. "I'll see you after the Reaping." he says.

I nod, and force a smile for him, but the butterflies in my stomach feel like they're turning into a swarm of bees, hitting me from every direction.  
I stand up, and kiss his forehead, leaaving through the back door and making my way home. 


	4. The Reaping

The blue dress goes to just above my knees, and has white lace around the high neckline, and hem, casuing the skin on my neck, under my chin and thighs to itch. But I make my way froward, through the crowds of kids, and get in line. I hold out my finger, allowing it to be pricked, and carry on through.

The town square has been completed since I ran through it in the early hours of this morning, with the bowls of names set up, a microphone,  
a few chairs for officials and banners everywhere. I walk towards the girls of my age, and stop, standing next to a girl called Foxglove Tress, a friend from school. She smiles weakly at me, and I return it, in the same weak fashion.

Effie Trinket appears on stage, wearing a pastel yellow skirt and blazer, and pale violet shirt. Her wig has changed to a curly blonde one, and her lips are painted a soft violet, like her shirt. Her heels clack loudly on the stage in front of the Justice Building, as she takes to the microphone,  
saying brightly. "Welcome, to the 76th Annual Hunger Games!"

She smiles, and I turn behind me to see if Gale is standing with the parents. He's stood at the front, and he nods at me, giving me a smile, and I force a smile back. I turn around, and heard the video start. It was the same video every year, and I could practically mouth the words along with it, now.

"Isn't that just wonderufl!" Effie grins at us. "Now, let's begin with ladies first."

She moves towards the bowls, her fingers stretching over the pieces of paper. She wiggles her fingers, twirling her hand, and reaches a finger out to pluck a name from the bowl. She produces it, holding it between her yellow glitter finger nails and showing it to the crowd. She makes her way back to the microphone, and unfurls the paper. Waiting a few moments, she says,

"Dahlia Cartwright!"

Silence. Utter silence. I feel my heart race, and the butterflies errupt in my stomach. My jaw drops, and I look round. There are no cries from volunteers this year. I feel a grip on my hand, from Foxglove, and she squeezes my hand. I feel like I'm about to cry. I turn to look at Gale, who's jaw has dropped, and he stumbles a few steps forward. My mother sets a hand on his shoulder, as two peacekeeps take a few steps towards him to block him from my path.

"Well, dear?" I hear Effie say as I turn back to the stage. "Come on up!"

I gulp, and stumble a few paces forward. The crowd parts, and I see Prim, Katniss' little sister, looking at me with wide eyes. I reach the stage,  
and stumble up the stairs, towards Effie's outstretched hand, which waves me forward. She smiles. "Welcome, Dahlia! And now, for the boys."

I take no notice of her as she moves towards the other side of the stage, and stands over the bowl of names. My eyes are focused on Gale, who's looking at me as if his world was crashing down around his ears. But I could feel mine, my whole world collapsing. I wasn't a fighter. I wasn't like Gale, or Katniss, or Peeta - I couldn't make snares, I didn't have talent with a bow and arrow and I couldn't camoflauge myself. I was going to die.  
This wasn't an opportunity - it was a death sentence.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of Effie calling the next name: "Cole Aster!"

I looked into the crowd to see a boy, a boy I knew from school, younger than me by a year with olive skin, grey eyes and dark brown hair, cut quite short. His jaw drops, and he looks to the floor, blinking back obvious tears. Immediately I feel sorry for him. From the girls I hear a loud wail, and my eyes flick to see a 12 year old girl, with the same olive skin and dark hair crying into the chest of a slightly older girl, who shares the same look. He slowly makes his way to the stage, and as he reaches the white mark where he needs to stand, Effie is about to tell us to shake hands,  
but I have already reached out, embracing the hand of the boy opposite me, looking him straight in the eyes. I will be his allie. We are in this together. I may be dead, but I'm going to get him home. This boy, I barely know.

Effie seems thrilled that I took the initiative to shake his hand, and she grinned at the audience. We were then ushered into the Justice Building,  
and I was put into a room, waiting for visiters.


	5. Goodbyes

My mother and brothers burst through the door, and my mother wrapped me up in her arms, rocking me. She was crying, and I sighed, holding her.  
"They can't take you, no, no, I won't let them take you, no." She muttered, to herself over and over. Eventually she let go, and I was embraced by Palmer, and the Oreaster.

"You try to win, do you hear me?" Palmer says, setting his hands on my shoulder. Oreaster is holding my mother. "You try your very best. Give it everything you've got."

"I will." I say, and nod. "I promise you, I will."

"Time to go." One of the peacekeeps says, and Palmer leaves first. Oreaster kisses my forehead, hugs me, and leaves. I see a tear trace down his cheek as he pulls away. My mother hugs me, holding me tight, refusing to let go, until she's pulled away from me by a peacekeeper, just having time to kiss my forehead and shout "I love you!" beore the door closes behind her.

It's silent for only a few moments before the door opens and Gale appears. He rushes towards me, putting his arms around my and pressing his lips against the top of my head. I try not to cry, to be strong, but I can feel myself crumbling. I feel a drop of wet on the top of my head, and know that he's having a hard time being strong, too.

"You've seen me with snares." He says in a rush. "You've seen me hunt, you've helped me, you've helped Peeta in the bakery, you can do camoflauge, you can do it, you can."

I wonder if I should tell him, now. My secret. The thing I've told no one else. Not even my mother, or my brothers. But I can't - there are cameras and peacekeeprs everywhere. I can't tell him, for fear of endagering us both. So I stay silent, not being able to offer him one last piece of reassurance.

He pulls away, setting his hands on my shoulders. "Win. You do whatever it takes. You win, okay?"

I nod, blinking back the tears, I nod, and then before I know it his lips are against mine, and his hands on my back, keeping my pressed against him. I kiss him back, desperately trying not to cry and break apart as the peacekeeprs enter and force him away. "You can do it, Lee." He says.  
"You can win!"

And then the door is closed behind him. 


	6. The Train

I met up with Cole in the corridors of the Justic Building, and we were ushered onto the train, with our families, friends and neighbours watching.  
The train was long and silver, and hovered just above the track. I stepped into it with a helping hand from Cole, and the door slid open. There was a long, wodden table, filled with platters of food, stretching out along three quarters of the room. At the end there was a drink table, with glasses and different brightly coloured liquids in tall bottles. At the end of that there were arm chairs, set up in a group of four, in a two by two grid. I walked past the table, outstretching my hand and running it along the table as i walked. I ran my hand along one of the bottles as I walked past the drinks cart, and sat down in one of the chairs.

Cole followed, though not before he'd picked a small green cake off of one of the cake stands and popped it in his mouth. He sat in the chair next to me, and Effie sat opposite him. It was then that Haymitch Abernathy, our mentor entered through the door in front of me.

He walked steadily to the drinks cart, and I heard Effie cluck in distaste. He sighed, and sat down opposite me. I had met Haymitch before, and I recognised him, but I doubted that he recognised me.

"You're looking surprisingly sober." I said to him.

His grey eyes bored into mine. "Well, we have a lot of work to do, sweetheart, and I want to get it over with."

I stared at him for a moment longer, and then turned to Effie. "How long until we get there?"

"We won't be there until tomorrow." She beamed, and I turned back to Haymitch.

"Then we have time to start now." I say to him, and I see his jaw clench. I am not going to make this easy for him. If I am to return myself or Cole home, we need to start now.

Haymitch leaned forward in his seat, putting his clasped hands between his knees so his face was closer to mine. "Here's the main thing, sweetheart - get people to like you. The more people like you, the more sponsors you'll get, and the better chance you have of surviving. So I suggest you snap out of this little miss 'i'm a tribute and i don't care' act, because it's not going to get you anywhere."

He leans back in his chair, and stares at me. "Oh, and this year, don't go for the 'star crossed lovers' act, because look what happened last year."

That's it. I decide then to slit his throat with the knife he keeps in his pocket, and I go to stand up to jump on him, but I feel a hand on my leg, forcing me back down. I turn to see Cole looking at me with his dark, grey eyes, and shakes his head. I turn back to Haymitch expecting to see him laughing at me, but he's staring at me unamused.

Effie seems thrown by his last comment too, for her violet lips are pouted and her eyes are wide and threatening to brim over with tears, but she tries to make light of it. Her voice trembles, as she says, "Well, I do believe that lunch is in half an hour, so you may go and freshen up, and then meet in the dining car."

She smiles, and walks to the car behind us, where Haymitch came from, ad I'm guessing the rooms are in that direction. Haymitch gets up a few seconds after, and goes in the seam direction.

I look at Cole, who turns to look at me, too, and says, "Don't let him get to you. It's just the alcohol, or lack of it."

I nod, and he gets up. "Come on," he says. "Let's go to our rooms."

I nod again, and let him lead the way to the rooms, following in the direction of Effie and Haymitch. 


	7. Dinner

"So how do we find shelter?" Cole asks over dinner. We're sitting at the table in the dining car, Effie and Haymitch on one side, Cole and I on the other. The starter was a bright pink soup with swirls of white that tasted like nothing I have ever eaten before, and I ate it hungrily, but trying to keep my manners, so as not to offend Effie. The main course came soon after, and was a palte of lamb ribs with the potatoes, peas, carrots, and a variety of other vegetables I had never seen before.

Haymitch shoved a baby carrot in his mouth, chewed it, and said, "It depends on the conditions. If it's snow, find the direction of the snow and keep your back to it, find something like that, that'll keep it away from you. If it's sun, well, go for the obvious, look for shade." He shrugged.

I nodded, and carried on eating. Haymitch and Cole talked for ages, while I sat and ate. I knew it was pointless me learnig anything anyways, when I would probably die in the bloodbath. But I wanted Cole to get home, so I sat in silence and allowed him to fire questions at Haymitch relentlessly.

"Dahlia, dear, you're rather quiet." Effie trills during the dessert, a bright green, almost illuminous green, with miniature fruits dotted about inside of it.

"I have no questions." I say quietly, with a weak smile.

Effie frowns. "None at all?"

I shake my head, and look down at the dessert. Haymitch seems to understand what I'm thinking, as he says, "You are not going to die. Don't set yourself up for death yet. You have a chance." He says.

I nod, but still I say nothing. As we finish dinner, I deicde to go to bed early. It's only 6pm, but I'm tired, properly tired, and I fall onto my bed and into a deep sleep, only to be woken by nightmares. 


	8. Nightmares

I'm in a forest. No. Not "a" forest, "the" forest, the forest in District 11 behind our homes. I run, my breath loud and echoing around the trees. I jump over tree stumps and fallen branches, sprinting in one direction - forward. But then I fall, stumbling, rolling down through the trees and the bushes, and then I feel a knife sail through the air next to my ear and land in the dirt. There's a person chasing me, who grabs the knife, and slams it into the ground again next to my ear. I look up to see Cole, his eyes wild and terrifying as he stabs his arm downwards-

I wake with a start, sitting up in bed. I'm sure I was screaming, but no one comes to check on me. At least, not at first. A few minutes after my awakening I have settled back down in bed, and am trying not to fall asleep, when there is a knock on the door.

"Come in." I murmur, hoping the person on the other side of the door can hear me.

The door opens without a sound, and Cole peaks in. It's obvious he's been sleeping, as his clothes are crumpled and his hair is sticking up in places, but he doesn't seem angry with me for waking him up. "You okay?" He asks.

I sit up in bed, and nod. "Fine."

"Nightmare?" He asks. I nod. "Mind if I..." he gestures to the end of my bed.

"Feel free." I murmur, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. Resting my head on my knees, I watch as Cole moves further into my room, shutting the door and sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"You've no need to be afraid, you know." Cole said, once he seemed comfortable.

I shake my head. "I have no talents. I'm not like Ka-" I start to say Katniss, but then I sto myself. "I'm not like the others." I say instead.

"You're a quick learner. You adapt quickly. That's better than any talent with weapons." He says.

I sigh, but smile. "Thank you."

"It's me we've got to worry about." He says, but he's smiling. Joking.

"That's my plan." I smile. "Get you home."

"Why me?" He asks.

I pause, my smile fading slightly. "You're younger. And you have more to live for."

"You have your family." Cole says. I nod, smiling, until he adds: "And Gale."

My smile fades. I had been doing well to forget about Gale for the time being, but Cole brought him straight back to my attention. I blink, still not knowing what to say, but my mouth is already forming the words, "What about Gale?"

"Come on," Cole smiles. "Everyone knows about you and Gale." He looks down at his feet, frowning softly, but still smiling. "It's obvious."

"Really?" I ask. Then I laugh. "Yeah, well, it wasn't anything much. And it doesn't matter now." I sigh, looking at the door. Cole looks up at me, and looks at the door too.

He sighs, and then he stands up. "See you in the morning, Dahlia." He smiles slightly.

As I leaves, I say, "Cole?"

He turns partially to look at me.

"Call me Lee." I say.

He smiles, nods, and leaves, closing the door softly behind him. 


	9. The Capitol

It was lunch time the next day when I emerged from my room to eat. Having skipped breakfast, I got back into my dress from yesterday, trying to cover up the red marks the lace has left behind. I walk to the dining cart, knowing that lunch will be being served as I walk. I open the dining cart door and Effie smiles. "Well I thought we'd have to send someone to wake you up!" She beams, putting her spoon down and putting her napkin on the table to stand up and hug me lightly. I hug her back, knowing it makes her happy.

I sit down next to her at the table, opposite Cole. Haymitch still seems sober, and he scoops up some of the yellow soup with the tiny spheres of red flecks in it, and shoves it in his mouth. He looks at me as I sit down. "Took your time, princess." He says.

"I had a bad night." I mutter, and smile as an attendant puts a bowl of the soup in front of me. I find that I have to chew the little red blobs, and they taste like bacon, with the soup itself tasting of a mixture of vegetables. We're silent as we eat, until the main course is brought out, and Effie exclaims, "Oh, rpast pheasant, my absolute favourite!"

We quickly lapse into silence, eating out meals without much chatter. Effie tries to start a conversation, but is quickly subdued. And then, as I look out of the window and pull another forkfull of food to my mouth, i drop it to the table.

"There it is." I murmur, hearing Effie cluck in disapproval, but I ignore her. I move to the window, stumbling slightly, and peering out of it. As we pull through the tunnel, Cole joins me, and together we meet the crowds of the Capitol.

They're all dressed in pastel colours, this month's trend, I assume, with pastel coloured wigs in crazy styles. They wave and they cheer, ecstatic to see us. A few girls at the front chatter incomprehensibly, but so loudly that I can hear them. I feel caught up in their obvious happiness, and I find myself smiling, waving, grinning at them all. I turn to Cole, who is waving but not smiling, ad he turns to look at me too. My smile is seemingly infectious, as he begins to grin, and we turn to face the Capitol citizens together. 


	10. Prepping

We are led to the large building where we will be staying and training, and are taken up to the penthouse suite on the top floor, as we belong to District 12. We're taken up in the elevator by Effie and Haymitch. Haymitch folds his hands together in his lap, and for the first time I notice the gold bangle on his wrist.

"What's that?" I ask, looking at it as it glints in the elevator light.

Haymitch follows my gaze. "Nothing." He answers, and looks back at the elevator doors. I take that as I sign not to ask any more, and press my lips together, continuing the ride in silence.

When the doors open, I gasp. The room is huge, with a long, wooden table in the centre of it, and several red chairs set out around the table. It all looks totally modern, with bright colours and weird designs. Behind that is another room, seemingly with sofas and a TV in it, and a corridor leads off to my left, where the rooms are, I guess.

"The opening ceremony is tonight," Effie says. "It's a good job we're hear earlier than expected! I'll leave you two to freshen up and then send your stylists in to you." She beams, leaving us to find our rooms.

"I wonder what it'll be this year." I say to Cole, as we walk to the rooms.

Cole shrugs. "Well, I doubt they'll be sticking with the fire theme."

A knife twists inside my stomach. I grit my teeth. But Cole doesn't seem to realise as he opens the door to one of the rooms, and says, "I'll see you soon."

I nod, and take the last door on the left. The room opens up into a large bedroom - two of the windows are walls, and the other two are wall papered. The bed is huge, and there's a door to the left of it that I guess it the bathroom. I turn the light on dimly and flop onto the bed. It's now,  
when I'm alone, that I realise how much I miss home. How much I miss my mother, and my brothers and my friends. But I miss the smaller things,  
too - the sound of crickets ouside my window at night, the black line of trees from the forest which I can just see when I sleep, and the faint smell of bread that fills every crevice of my home from the bakery next door. I've only been away for one day, but it feels like a lifetime.

There is a knock on my door, and a man enters. He's quite small, with pale skin and pale blue hair. His eyes are a bright silver colour, and I can't tell if it's natural or not, but I severely doubt it. He wears a simple blue blazer, black shirt and blue trousers. He smiles at me.

"Dahlia, I'm Indigo, Indigo Inchacape, your stylist." He smiles. He seems friendly enough.

I smile, and he moves further into my room. "I'm going to let the prep team start work on you, just doing your hair and your makeup, and then I'm going to come back with your costume, all right? I know you went through the initial preening process when you first came here, but this is just for makeup and hair." He smiles.

I nod. "Thank you, Indigo. I'll see you soon."

He nods as a prep team enter the room. Three Capitol citizens, two female, one male, called by the names of Whytt, Domitia and Althea, all dressed in soft pinks, violets and yellows, smile at me. They sit me down in a chair, facing the wall, but I ask, "Can I look out of the window?"

"Of course." Whytt smiles.

Althea hands me a remote. "You can project pictures on to it. Try them out." She smiles.

I nod, and press a button. A waterfall. A dessert. The city below me. A forest.

I leave it there, and receive a smile from Domitia, as she pulls up my nails to begin painting and polishing them.

My mind wanders, taking in the woods in front of me. Even when Althea blocks my view to do my make up, I still imagine myself in the woods,  
with Gale, making our morning treck to the hurt. Checking the snares as we wander back up. Roasting chestnuts in the fire of the hut. Lying out in the meadow under the summer sun, staring at the forrest. It takes Whytt snapping his fingers in my face to remove me from my daydream.

"We're done." He says, smiling.

I nod. "Thank you."

"Want to take a look?" Domitia asks.

I nod again, and she holds up a mirror to my face. I'm wearing thick black eye shadow, that goes right to underneath my eyebrows. Specks of black glitter begin at the top of my eyelid, and gets thicker as it reaches my lashes, which are thick and black, too. My lips are painted a dark purple colour, and my face has been lightly dusted with black glitter, so that it's almost unnoticable. My hair is tied back in a curled bun on the top of my head, and parts of my hair have been plaited into to it, leading back to the bun from my face. I look down at my nails, which are black,  
and longer than ususal, with the same glitter effect as my eyes.

"Wow." I murmur. My blue eyes seem almost turqouise against the black of my makeup, and I know it's going to make an impression.

"We'll let Indigo get you into your costume." Althea smiles, and the prep team graciously leave the room, and Indigo enters. He smiles at me.

"You look beautiful. But it's the dress that's going to set people off."

I nod, and allow him to get my into my dress. It's plain black and strapless, with a tight bodice leading into a flowing skirt. I wear dark tights underneath, and boots that reach my mid calfs. The look like minors boots, but they've been made into heels, and they feel weird to walk in. I do a twirl, looking down at my dress, and understand the glitter.

"We're ready to go." Indigo grins, showing off pearly white teeth, and opening the door for me. 


	11. The Opening Ceremony

I meet up with Cole in the corridor, and take in his outfit. He's wearing a black suit, like a sort of jumpsuit, thoughtrousers are seemingly just normal trousers. He wears the minor's boots too, and his face is speckled with black glitter, his hair neatly combed back from his face. His eyes widen as he sees me. "Wow." He says.

I'm sure I'm blushing, and I look down as we continue to walk to the elevator. Effie grins at us as we enter, saying how fabulous we look, and Haymitch nods, seemingly in approval. Effie and Indigo chatter about the costumes on the way down, and when the door opens we are ushered into a car to the building where the opening ceremony will be held.

When we get there, we wait by our chariots and I pet the horses tentively. I can see the other tributes and their outfits. District 1 wear silver, glittery costumes, and bright pink feathery jackets; District 2 wear white shirts and dresses, like peacekeepers, with jet black gloves and boots;  
District 3 are wearing some sort of coppery material, like copper wire; I can only see the girl from District 4, dressed in a sea blue, floor length dress that pools around her feet, like water, and she wears a net around her curly red hair; District 5 are wearing bright yellow costumes, and a hat shaped like a lightning bolt; The 13 year old boy from District 10 wears denim overalls and a golden shirt, with a golden cowboy hat. I can't see the other tributes.

We get settled into our chariots, and, being from District 12, we are at the back. The other chariots beign to move, slowly at first, and I can hear the roar of the crowd. I take a deep breath, and Cole smiles, squezzing my hand in the chariot, the other resting on the railing. I smile back at him,  
and keep hold of his hand as he goes to release it.

It is our tunr to ride, and I see Effie's face light up as we pick up speed, at something I don't understand. Even Haymitch seems impressed. I take another deep breath, as the crowd comes into view. The cheering gets louder, and louder, until eventually my ears are ringing. I keep my head held high and smile, wave at the crowd with my free hand, and then I raise our joint hands above our heads, as Katniss and Peeta one did. The crowd go hysterical, and for the first time, I catch a glimpse of myself on the large screens. My dress is floating out behind me. No, not floating,  
shooting out behind me, and from the edge of the fabric begins glitter, tons of black glitter, fluttering outwards and thinning to a halt about a metre from my body. Cole's suit is doing the same, and I turn to him, murming, "Like coal dust."

He grins, and we turn to face the crowd again, turning to face President Snow as we reach the end. Some of the other tributes are staring, and as we lose speed the glitter and my dress slowly return to my body, until the glitter is left shimmering down to the floor. I feel breathless as I lower mine and Cole's hands, and smile at the audience. 


	12. Interviews

The interviews followed the opening ceremony, and I find myself in a dress similar to the costume I just changed out of. The dress is red, and covered in glitter, and the hem trails off into a sort of dissolve fashion, with red glitter shimmering to the floor, but never hitting it. My blonde,  
merchant hair is curled and left to rest on my shoulders, and the black makeup has been wiped clean, and instead of eyeshadow I wear thick,  
black, fake eyelashes, that are coated in red glitter at the ends. My lips are painted a bright red colour, and lightly sprinkled with the same glitter,  
and I get the feeling that as soon as the lights hit me I'll blind anyone who's looking at me.

I wait, second last in line, to go on stage. The tributes are all wearing brightly coloured suits and dresses, hair spiked up, flattened down, slicked back, curled, straightened and tied up. Each of them look focused, calm and collected. But all I can think is 'If Katniss was the girl on fire, does that mean I'm the girl that shimmered?'

Cole takes his place in line behind me, and I take in his sky blue suit with black lapel and black shirt. His dark hair is slicked back, out of his face,  
and his dark grey irises seem as if they've been coated in glitter too.

Slowly, the line begins to move. I could watch the interviews from the screens beside my head, or hear the interviews just by paying attention, but I don't. I hear snippet, sometimes - the District 2 tribute telling everyone how excited she is, the district 4 boy cracking jokes - but nerves are getting the better of me. And then I realise, I'm at the front of the queue.

A Capitol woman with bright green curls puts her hand on my arm, and ushers me forward. I wait for Ceasar to introduce me, but I can barely hear him. My ears are shutting down, my brain losing control. I'm nervous. Too nervous. And then I feel a hand on my back, pushing me forward, so that I almost stumble onto the stage in my red heels. But as I take in the crowd, who are screaming my name, applauding and grinning, everything else goes away. THe butterflies that have been threatening to break through my stomach. The pounding in my head. The sweat on my palms.  
Gone. And as I walk to the chair next to Ceasar, I become a natural.

Waving to the audience, I blow a kiss, and sit down next to Ceasar, automatically kissing him on the cheek. He seems shocked, and reacts with an "Oh!" and kisses my back. Then, he settles the audience, and I lean back in my chair. Looking at me, he says "So, Dahlia-"

"Please, call me Delly." I smile. Nobody's called me Delly since the last reaping day, when Peeta went away, and I have refused to let anyone call me it since. Not even Gale. But if it'll get the audience to like me, I'm going to let them.

"Well, Delly," Ceaser smiles. I can tell he was pleased by that. "We've done some digging, and we understand you have a friend at home, who you're...more than friendly with. Is that right?"

I swallow, my mouth feeling suddenly quite dry. Why was it that everyone wanted to bring up the very thing I wanted to forget? "Yes." I answer.  
"Yes I do."

"What's his name, Delly? Where did you meet him?" Ceasar presses me.

"His name is..." I pause, and look directly to the camera, and to the audience, giving them a small smile. "His name is Gale." I say. "He's my best friend. I met him when we started school, I guess. I mend dresses for his mother. And I've always liked him. More than I should. More than he likes me. Though I wouldn't say I was the only one."

A small laugh from the audience.

"Well, surely, showing your love for him on national television will get him to notice you." Ceasar grinned.

"Surely." I reply.

"You say Gale is your best friend," Ceasar continues. "But what about Peeta? We understand he was a good friend of yours. Has his fate influenced you in any way?"

I feel my smile waver slightly, but I keep it up as best I can. "Well Ceasar, Peeta was so dear to me, and Katniss, too, that they're...disappearance couldn't not of influenced me." I say. "They've made me want to win, more than ever before."

Ceasar nods. "You say you were close to Katniss, too. What is it like being the next girl into the arena after her?"

"Well," I say, grinning. "Katniss went into the arena as the girl on fire. And I'm going in as the girl that glittered."

The audience laughs, some applaud, and Ceasar grins, pulling my closer to him with a small gesture. I lean in, my curls hanging in front of my face.  
"You don't have any similar tricks up your sleeve, do you? With your dress?"

And then I remember what Inidigo had said to me after the opening ceremony. "Funny you should ask, Ceasar." I say. I slowly rise, and hear the audience already begin to applaud. I take a few steps forward, and begin to spin. At first, I think that nothing's happening, that the glitter is simply splaying outwards. But then I feel a shift in the dress, around my calves, and I keep twirling, and twirling, until I feel it reach the strapless bodice,  
and hear the audience burst into applause and cheers. I look down to see my once red dress now gold: the colour of victory, the colour of success,  
but more importantly, the colour of the pin.

Ceasar joins me at the front of the stage, embraces me, and we hold our arms out to the audience. I am then allowed to exit the stage, feeling slightly breathless, to the see an anxious Cole staring at me wide eyed.

"Was it too much?" I ask. "Was it too much like Katniss?"

He shakes his head. "It was amazing." 


	13. The Roof

_I've decided to add another bit to the storyline, so I've modified other chapters (it hopefully still makes sense) so it doens't seem like this came from nowhere!_

* * *

I stand, watching Cole's interview from were I was once waiting. He seems nervous. He wrings his hands as he sits, but eventually he warms up,

makes a few jokes, flashes a winning smile, and answers questions seemingly happily. Effie smiles happily at my side, her hands folded together in front of her, and even Haymitch, who's looking extremely sober, doesn't seem as grumpy as usual. And then-

"So, Cole," Ceasar says. "The last two years, in the arena, we've had a beautiful young romance from District 12. Are we going to be seeing any of that this year?"

Cole gives a laugh, and shakes his head. "No." he says, with a nervous sort of smile. "No. Maybe if I had my way. But she's happy with Gale. I've seen her back home. They're a beautiful couple."

The audience awws, and Effie gasps, clasping her hands together infront of her mouth. Haymitch grunts. I smile slightly.

"And you don't want to mess with that?" Ceasar asks.

"I don't have a chance anyway." Cole says, that same, small smile still playing on his lips. "There won't be two victors this year."

Ceasar looks at the audience and gives a sympathetic smile, and the applause begins, as he stands up holding Cole's hands in the air. But before he can reach the edge of the stage, I'm turning to Haymitch. "I'm going to my room." I say, turning and walking to the elevator, followed by a silent, but smiling, Indigo.

* * *

I brush the curls out of my hair, sitting cross-legged on my bed. The silk sheets are soft underneath my legs, but the heat makes them sticky, and I eventually have to get up. Watching the reruns of the interviews, I notice how happy I seem. How alive. Like I'm not about to be sent into an arena with 23 other kids to fight to the death. It must seem horrible to the people back home, to the people I care about, but it delights the people of the Capitol, and isn't that what matter right now?

I hear doors shutting and opening from outside, and I kno Effie has went to bed, as has Haymitch. They were watching the reruns in the living room, with Indigo and Eunia Lockheart, Cole's stylist, and had apparently only just went to bed. So I was going to the roof.

With training beginning the next day, I know I will have no time to scout around the suit and see what was going on. So I decide that now is the right time, and I creep down the corridor towards the stair case that leads to the roof.

As soon as I open the door, the cold night air hits me. It feels good against my hot, sticky skin, and I take in a long, deep breath. I wonder why nobody just throws themselves over the edge, and finishes it before they can get to the arena. I walk to the edge, and look down. It's a long drop.  
A hugely long drop. It would definitely do the job.

"Don't bother." A voice says from behind me. "Force-field'll just throw you back up."

I turn to see Cole, sitting against some sort of ventiliation thing. All I know is, it's big, and it's metal, and it can't be too comfortable. I don't move from my position next to the edge. "Force-field?" I ask.

He nods. "Stops people from just throwing themselves off before they can get them into the arena. Because, you know - the whole point is that they watch you die. Finding you at the bottom with your skull cracked open takes all the fun out of things."

It's the first time I've heard Cole like this- cold, harsh and cynical. He doesn't look impressed, either. His grey eyes are dark, like the storm clouds that ould gather over us in the winter, and they're staring not at me, but at the wall beside me.

"You sound like you've thought about it." I murmur.

"You haven't?" He raises an eyebrow.

I shake my head. "Not if there's a chance that I'll win."

"There is no chance for me."

"That's not true."

"How?" He spits. "How is it not true? We both know it, I'm not making it out."

"Cole." I say. He's getting angry, I can see it. I try to calm him down. "Cole, we're training tomorrow. Even if you're not good at anything now, you'll get good. They'll train you to be good. And even if you aren't, Cole-" I sit down next to him, and smile. "You've always got me as an ally."

His eyes soften slightly, and his jaw relaxes.

I wonder if I should tell him, now. The secret I've been hiding for so long. Have never mentioned to anyone else. Have tried not to think about since I was last there. How suspicious will it be? To find a girl, not from one of the career districts, who can already fight, shoot and take care of herself? Will Snow want to know why? or will he think I've just done so good in training that I've prepared myself for this? Will it look like I've had prior training? And if it does, what will happen? Who will be punished?

I decide to keep my mouht shut, pulling my knees up to mychest instead.

"Stay with me in the arena." Cole says.

He isn't looking at me, but I nod. "Of course." I reply.

He smiles slightly, and then sighs. Standing up, he holds his hand out to me. "We should get some sleep. We have to be up early tomorrow - it's a big big day!" He mimicks Effie in a shrill Capitol voice, and I laugh, taking his hand and allowing him to pull me up.


	14. Training

"You will train for 2 hours each day, for the next four days, and then you will have the day you will be judged by the game makers, and then you will be sent into the arena." The woman says, looking at each of the tributes as we stand in a loose crowd. So I have forgotten her name already.  
I'm concentrating in the first place. I am looking at the dummies, around 50 or so, I think, and there are no doubt more behind them, waiting to be brought in. I just want to begin. Waiting makes me impatient.

"Off you go." The woman says finally, and we each move off to a certain place.

A few of the younger tributes from 5, 6 and 7 go off to the camouflage area, and the fire and knot making areas. The career tributes go off to the bigger things, like spear throwing, sword-work and knives. The rest of us move between areas, trying not to get too close to them.

I decide to leave archery till last. I don't want to be compared to Katniss. Not again. It's enough that my friends, family and trainers compare me to her, but to have them, the other tributes, and the gamemakers, scoff at me because I'm second best to her, yet again, will bring me down completely. So instead I go to the climbing area, knowing my upper-body strength will help me out here.

As I stand in the short queue, I notice the small girl on the frame. She has pale, white skin, and chestnut hair, plaited in pigtails that hang over her shoulders. She jumps down blithely, and a small boy with the same pale skin and chestnut hair takes her place, swinging across the frame with ease. It is my turn, then, and though my faith in myself doesn't waver, I wonder if I'll ever be able to make it seem as easy as they did.

I reach the end and eye the boy and girl, who don't seem to know what to do with themselves now. I move on, ignoring them. I'm not going to make Katniss's mistake with Rue. That's another way I won't allow myself to be compared with her.

I move on to the spear range, and feel the eyes of the career pack homing in on me. I gulp, taking up a javelin. I have quite good aim. I know where to aim for. If I hadn't of found... that place, I wouldn't know anything. I would be dead in the bloodbath. But because i had found it, I knew I could do it.

I bring my arm back and throw the javelin towards the target, hitting the bullseye where the heart would be. I hear a murmur of approval from the head of the career pack, see his eyes take me in, as if wondering whether I could join, whether I'm fit to be part of his elite crew. But I don't want to be. And so I move to the camouflage area.

After a few minutes of painting the back of my hands in various different patterns - trees bark, grass, bushes of nightlock - I give up. I will never be as good as Peeta. Or as good as the girl from Distict 6 who is stood opposite me, painting what seems to be a field of yellow flowers on her arm. She smiles at me as I stand up, leaving the paint on my hand, and move towards the archery range. Well, it had to happen eventually.

And as soon as I take up the light, black bow, I feel 34 pairs of eyes fall on me. 23 tributes, 5 game makers, 5 trainers, and that woman who ran the training group. I clench my jaw, grabbing an arrow brashly, pulling back on the bow-string, aiming and firing. I hit the target where the eye would be. Not where I was aiming for, but still a good target. Good enough for the eyes to drop and murmurs of silent approval. There would be no second best here. I would be me. I would be strong. Hell, I would be the girl who glittered if I had to be, if it made me unique. I smile to myself,  
see Cole nod in approval from the fire-building area, and draw back another arrow, taking the time to aim. 


	15. Careers

Day two of training was almost over. Today I had tried knife throwing, which requied more skill than I actually possess, but I think I pulled it off.  
Or at least, there were no snickers, scoffs or stares as I moved onto knot-making. None that I notice, anyway.

I'm washing the camouflage the girl from 6 is teaching me to do when the leader of the Career pack, Daven, approaches me. He has a swagger to his walk, and certain cocky look that makes me hate him with just a single glance. I feel completely alone as I see him set his large hands down on the cart in front of me.

"So," he says. "You're good."

I look up at him, and reply with a simple. "Thanks."

He raises his eyebrows. His hair is blonde and spiked, and his eyes are an emerald shade of green. "Where did you learn to train, then? No one has natural skill like that. I didn't think District 12-"

"It doesn't." I cut him off.

"Then where did you learn?" He asks me, lowering his head down to my level, moving nearer as he does so.

I try not to give him a dirty look. I don't need a career for any more of an enemy than they already are. "I made sure I was prepared. Never know if you're going to get reaped."

He nods, seeming impressed. "I like that. That's good. I like what I saw there, too." He looks at the knife throwing range, where they're carting away and dummy I had skewered. "And what you did with that spear. And the bow and arrows. And apparently your camouflage is good too." He looks down at my still brown arm.

"Thanks." I reply, washing the water over my dyed skin. "But it's nothing compared to your..." Gang. Mob. Posse. "...group."

He gives a laugh, as if shrugging me off, and I feel my hatred for him rise. "Actually, that's why I'm here. I want you to join us."

I look over to the five kids in the center of the room - the careers. Last year had seen only 4, this year saw 6. I had no doubt that they would band off into threes' once we got into the arena, but for now they seemed solid. There were three girls, and three boys: Jasper and Garnet, from 1; Daven and Cora, from 2; and Fisher and Aqua from 4. They were vain, superficial and arrogant. I do not want to join them.

"I can't." I say. "I have pre-existing alliances."

"Already?" Daven raises his eyebrows. "Well, sweetheart, if you change your mind at any time, come find us. I'll try not to let the others kill you."  
He shoots my a deadly grin, and rejoins his gang, who all ask how it went.

Unsuccesfully. I think to myself. I wait until the've moved off into the elevators before meeting with Cole and Effie, to go off to our suit. 


	16. First Impressions

So I haven't made enemies of the careers (any more than they were before) so I figure I'm doing okay. But then the final day of training is over,  
and I have to impress the gamemakers with my skills. Which I have very little of. I don't know what I'm going to do. I sit and wait for them to call my name, but I'mm the last person in, being the girl from District 12, and by the time I'm called to the room, having not seen Cole since he left to take his turn, I've bitten my nails down to the quick.

I walk slowly, as if trying to think about what I can do. What should i do? I don't even know. I take a deep breath as I walk into the training room,  
which is eerily empty without 23 other kids and 5 trainers in it. I look to the gamemakers. In previous years, they wouldn't of even been paying attention to me, but not this year - they're all staring at me, fixing me with their bright (unnaturely bright) beady eyes.

I see Plutarch Heavensbee, head gamemaker, sat in the front. I thought he wasn't coming back? Well, he seemingly was, because he gave me a small nod when I reach the middle of the training area.

"Dahlia Harper. District 12." I say. They nod. I now have 15 minutes to impress them.

Some of the dummies have been set out, and I drag them into different positions around me. These dummies are heavy. So I've shown my physical strength there. Having no real skill with any of the weapons, I pull out two of the long, glistening swords, and hear the mettalic noise as they slide against the metal sheath.

I look to the gamemakers, who are still watching me. And then I begin.

The dummies are set to move, and if one of them hits you, you'll know about it. They begin to spin, and slash, and I kick out, stabbing with my swords and kicking the dummies in the chest. I can hear murmurs of approval from behind me, but I'm not done. As the last dummie comes twaords me I press one sword to the back of its neck, one sword to the front, and slash, in opposite directions.

The head falls to the ground. I turn to face the gamemakers. They seem as unimpressed as they did when I came in. As I wait for Plutarch to nod to signal I can go, I see their eyes flick to a spot just to my left. I bring my left arm up, and stab my elbow backward, not sure what I'm going to hit. I keep facing forward the whole time, as I feel my elbow connect with a dummy, sending it flying backwards.

Plutarch nods, and I am free to go.

We sit in the living room, so to speak, Haymitch and me on one sofa, Effie and Cole on the other, and the sylists on another. We wait as the scores are given out. There are a few high ones - 8s, 9s - but the majority of the scores are 5s and 6s. I wait, anxious, wondering what they'll have given me. Plutarch knows I can do more than that. Would that influence him at all? Or would he not give me a high score so as to put the other tributes off?

I see "District 12" flash up onto the screen, and Cole's face. We wait, and I lean forward in my chair. A number 9 flashes next to his face, and we all breathe a sigh of relief.

"Excellent!" Effie trills, clapping her hands together. "And now for Delly!"

I was already starting to regret that. I watch as my face replaces Cole's. And then the number flashes onto the screen.

"10!" Effie squeals, clapping her hands together and tapping her feet. Haymitch turns and grins at me.

"Well done, sweetheart." He says, and pats me on the back. Cole gives me an approving nod, and I lean back in my seat, feeling almost out of breth. I smile. So Plutarch did have a bigger infuence on my score. I smile, resting my head back and breathing a sigh of relief. 


	17. Confessions

And I am back on the roof, sat where I was four nights ago, except this time, I'm alone. I can hear the chanting from the street below - Capitol citizens chanting for their favourite, the one they want to win: chants of "Daven", "Aqua" and "Jasper", and even a few small chants of my name,  
but I block them out.

How can they be so enthusiastic? Every year, 23 children die for their entertainment. 23 sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, granddaughters and grandchildren are sent to die. And even then, the victor is never safe. Always being watched by the Capitol. Do they know that? Or do they not care, so long as they get their annual entertainment?

But I have reasons to hate the Capitol. Not only have the killed my friends and my relatives, but the have taken away my best friend. They forced him to fight, twice, and now they've just discarded him. Left him to die. You'd think a victor would get better treatment.

I hear the door to the roof open, and close, and footsteps coming towards me. Cole flops down beside me, his hair flopping into his eyes as he does. He sits as I do, with his knees pulled up to his chest, arms loosely wrapped around them. "How long have you been here?"

"Twenty minutes or so." I murmur.

He nods. "It's sick, isn't it?"

I look at him, turning my head.

"Them. The chanting. The enthusiasm. You think they'd have some sort of...remorse." He finishes, staring at the fireworks that are being set off in the square below.

I sigh. "They don't see it like we do. They think that we want to go. They don't understand that we hate it."

"Maybe soon the rebellion will start." He murmurs.

How does he know about that? I have to cover up. "What? Don't... Don't talk like that, Cole." I drop my voice. "They'll kill you for talking like that."

"I know about you." He says. "I know how you're so good. Don't pretend that there's no rebellion. Or District 13." He spits.

My eyes widen. "This isn't the place, Cole."

"Then where is?" He hisses. "Tomorrow we go to the arena, where the whole of Panem is watching, you want to talk about it there?" He cocks his head.

I shake mine. "No." I murmur. "What do you want to know?"

"When did you find it? What did they teach you? Did they know you were going to be picked?" His voice drops even lower. "Do you know where Katniss and Peeta are?"

"About three years ago. To fight, but with guns, not bows and arrows and swords and knives. No they didn't, I don't think. And no, Cole. No. I don't. I wouldn't be here if I did." I answer in a low voice.

He gulps,and turns away from me. "You're going to get in trouble if they find out."

"Who?" I ask.

"Them." He looks to the square below us.

I nod. "But they won't. I forgot. That was another part of my training. Fooling the stupid Capitol people." I grin.

Cole starts to smile, looking as if he's trying to battle it, but he breaks into a grin, and laughs. "Just don't leave me in that arena." He says, and turns to look at me again, his face serious.

I nod. "I won't. I promise." I say.

He nods. We stay silent for a while, just enjoying eachother's company. This is the last relaxing moment I'm going to get. So I enjoy it, lying back and feeling the breeze through my hair. 


	18. Leaving

I wake early, though the sun is streaming through my windows. I have only had a few hours, if not minutes, sleep, and I can feel it in every cell of my body. I woke many times during the night, tossing and turning, unable to properly get to sleep. Today is the day. The day I die.

I am woken by Indigo, who comes in with Whytt, Domitia and Althea, and they smile at me. But their smiles are sweet, and overly sympathetic.  
I do not smile back.

They don't do much to me. They simply scrub me down, make sure I am completely clean, and take all of the varnish and eyeliner off that I have not been able to remove myself. Whytt's pastel green skin seems a paler shade today, as if he would be an unusually white colour in his natural skin tone. Domitia's cheeks are a dark pink, much unlike her candy-pink hair. Althea seemed pale, sheet white, and it contrasted against her violet eyeshadow and violet lips. It was only Indigo who held strong, smiling, chatting and laughing with - or at - me while they suited me up.

I was dressed in a light white vest top, combat trousers and light boots. I had a jacket, made of thick, waterproof material, but it doesn't go around my shoulders - it goes around my waist, tied by the sleeves. This feels suspicious. But I say nothing.

Haymitch walks with me to the elevator, and we stand in silence as it goes up to the helipad, where the hovercraft is waiting. I can feel my hands starting to sweat, and I feel hot. "Haymitch-" I gasp, but he cuts me off.

"You're going to be just fine, sweetheart." He says. His usual term of endearment doesn't sound as sarcastic as it usually does. It sounds like he means it, like he's come to care for me. It almost relaxes me. "You're going to do great."

The elevator doors open to reveal the hovercraft, and I realise that I'm the last to arrive. Haymitch can go no further. He pulls my in for a hug, an awkward kiss on the cheek, and then sets his hands on my shoulders. He knows. I know he knows. I had never seen him in 13, but I know that he knows that I was there.

I step forward to board the hovercraft, and take my seat nearest to the door. There are no windows, so I cannot see out. "Give me your arm." A woman says, and I hold out my arm to her. The tracker is inserted by a large gun type thing, and I flinch as I shooting pain goes up my arm. Cole sits opposite me, and I can see his fist clenching and unclenching in pain. He gives me a reassuring smile, but I can only reply with wide, sad eyes.

Peacekeepers stand at the end of the rows of seats, and as we take off, the lights go out, with just ultra-violet lights running along the floor and ceiling, so everything is lit by an eery purple glow. I feel us lowering toward the ground, and then the sound of thumping as we hit the dirt. We are each led off by someone, our stylists, in some cases, to the rooms were we will be sent to our deaths. 


	19. The Arena

I'm in the Launch Room, staring ath the tube that is going to raise me to my death. Fear is gripping me now, in every fibre of my being. I want to run, scream and bang on the door for them to let me out, but no doubt it's locked. Indigo stands silently by my side, allowing me to panic in peace,  
and it's only when we hear the "30 seconds" that he grabs both of my arms and turns me to face him.

"You're going to do great." He says, focusing his violet eyes on mine. "You're going to win."

Why does everyone keep saying that?

"Haymitch told me to tell you, uh, not to forget your training, try to find a weapon, but if you can't, remember what they taught you, and find shleter and find it fast. Don't spend too long at the Cornucopia. He said that all of it would mean something to you."

I nod, feeling tears spring to my eyes. Why I'm getting so emotional over Haymitch Abernathy I'll never know.

"10 seconds."

Indigo plants a kiss on my chek, and stands back from me. I walk to the tube, feeling more than reluctant to enter it. Gulping, I get inside, and turn to face my stylist. He gives me one last reassuring smile, and then I feel it start to rise.

I straighten out my back, hold my chin up high, to show the others that I'm not afraid of them. But as we enter the arena I waver slightly. I can't see. I can't see a single thing. Light is burning my eyes, and it takes a while for them to adjust.

"30, 29, 28-"

The countdown begins. I try to look round me, as my eyes adjust. The sun is high and unnaturaely bright, and the heat is blistering. The cornucopia glints in the middle of us, and if I look at it directly I am blinded by the sunlight bouncing off it. I look to my feet. It's sand. Everything is sand. There is no grass, or concrete like in some years. It was all sand. To my left was large dunes, hills of sand rising up and no doubt falling back down when you reached the top. To my right was a forest, but it wasn't like the forests back home. I remebered seeing it in last year's games. It was a jungle. The trees were large, with thick trunks and long, dark green leaves. Some held fruit, which was no doubt poisenous, and some probbaly held animals.

I am brought back to the games by the sound of the voice over.

"3, 2, 1." 


	20. The Games

The canon sounds, and we all race from our spots. The sand makes me feel like I'm running through treacle, but I eventually reach the Cornucopia,  
and as I pick up a sand yellow bag far from the front of the Cornucopia, I see a sword, glinting below two fighting tributes. I race towards it,  
snatching it from them before eitherof them can notice. I race to my right, towards the forest, when I feel a hand around my neck, pulling me down. Aqua holds a knif above my head, her knees on my shoulders, holding me down. I clench my hand into a fist and punch upwards, feeling my knucles connect with her nose and knowing I've done some - most likely minimial - damage. Still, she recoils, and I am free to stand up, hair full of sand, as I race towards the trees.

I keep running under the coverof the trees, putting distance between myself and the Cornucopia. As the noises of screams and battle become more and more distant, I slow. I'm not too much out of breath - having done 8 to 10 kilometer runs, that was nothing - and am able to catch my breath quickly. I look to see if I'll be able to find trees, but it's hopeless. Instead, I keep walking.

After about ten minutes of slow walking in a norternly direction, I see a medium-sized hole. It's dark, pitch black, and only big enough for one or two people. It's a cave. It's shelter. It's what I need.

I gather up some of the large, waxy leaves from the trees above me, and using some of the vines that are hanging from the trees, I tie them together, creatinga sort of curtain. I hang it over the cave mouth, and step back a few paces to make sure it looks natural, and not too suspicious.  
I decide it does, and I crawl under the leaves and settle into the back of the cave.

I pull the bag off my shoulder. It doesn't blend in with the grey cave walls and green leaves, so I position my body to hide it. I pull out the objects inside. A dark grey sleeping bag that looks just big enough for me; some rope, which could come in handy if I need to climb a tree or even those dunes to the south; a long, thin water cannister, that probably doesn't hold much water; a handful of long, metal nails, which I have no use for;  
and a small, silver tube, shiny and bright, with sharp funnel edges - a spile. I turn it in my hand and smile. But then my smile fades as I think of something I DON'T have.

Cole. He could of died at the Cornucopia. He could be lying dead in the sand, his throat slit or his head smashed open. I've left him. I promised.  
And I broke it almost immediately. Suddenly, I feel tears spring to my eyes. I told him I woudn't leave him, and I have. I've broken my promise. But my broken promise does not just result in someone's feelings being hurt nd trust being lost - it could result in DEATH.

I am a horrible person.

I blink rapidly so as not to let the tears brim over. It's early, still, only about half an hour into the games, maybe an hour, but I feel exhausted. The cave is cooler than it was outside, but it's still horrible humid, and the air feels like it's sticking in my lungs with every breath I take. I have a feeling I'm breathing in more water than air, too.

I lie my head against the cave wall and try not to think of Cole. I lie still for a while, just thinking. Maybe I could just lie here, killing animals for food when necessary, or collecting fallen fruit from the trees, and just wait for all the other tributes to die. Maybe I can just lie and listen to the canon going off under the cover of rock and greenery, and allow this place to swallow me up, till I am all but forgotten. It would be an easy way to win. Too easy. The gamemakers would find some way to flush me out of this cave. Fill it with mutts, probably. Or LITERALLY flush me out. Flood the thing, force me out for air. Drive the other tributes towards me - BAM, entertainment. So the answer is no, then. I can not just lie here.

Suddenly, I notice the light that was seeping through the tiny gaps in the leaves has started to diminish. I fumble around the cave, packing my things into my bag, trying to make everything fit. I leave just the spile and the water can out, so that I can go and collect water under the cover of darkness. When it becomes almost too dark for me to see, I creep out of the cave.

There is a tree right next to me, so I decide to use that. I have all of my stuff attached to me in case I need it. I drive the spile into the rubbery wood, but still it takes me a few minutes to get a steady trickle of water from the tree. I hold my can up to it, allowing it to fill before I replace it with my mouth, taking in the warm liquid. And then I hear the anthem start.

I pull the spile from the tree immediately, shoving everything into my bag. I sit very near to the mouth of the cave, so near that, if I needed to, I could just roll straight under the leaves. But I know I won't have to. Everyone will be watching this.

I wrap my arms around my knees, sword still in hand, and watch. 


	21. Reunion

The girl and boy from 3. The girl from 5. The boy from 6. Both tributes from 7. The girl from 8. The boy from 9. The boy and girl from 11.

But no boy from 12.

I smile. I smile broadley, and I'm sure I'm about to break into a maniacal fit of laughter when I hear footsteps. I hold in my laughter, and roll into the cave, hoping no one knows I'm here. I hear the footsteps pass right outside the mouth, and I flinch, gripping my sword tighter. But the footsteps go straight past, and eventualy echo into nothing.

Screams. That's what wakes me up. The screams of children. Small children, too. No. Just one child. A girl. And then laughter.

It could be a ploy, to attract other tributes to their death, but I can't take that chance. I crawl out of my cave, sword in hand, and run towards the sound of the screaming. Eventually I skid to a stop behind a large tree. I peak out from behind it, to see hat small, pale girl on the climbing frame trapped in a tree, three careers waiting to pull her down.

Thankfully, it's not Daven, who would most likely still try to get me to enroll in the career pack. As i had though, the careers would split into two groups, three in each, making them more deadly. In front of me are Jasper, Garnet and Fisher. Jasper is halfway up the tree, his legs wrapped around it, shimmying up towards the girl. She screams, and screams, and it takes a while for me to block her out completely.

I try to observe. Fisher has no weapon, which is peculiar. He could be hiding it somewhere. I search his body for signs of a dagger or a sword concealed in his clothing, but there seems to be none. And then I see it, on the floor. The blow dart. He's dropped it. Or he's been so eager to get the little girl that he's abandoned it.

I pick it up, and examine it. It has no darts, so I take the nails from my bag. They should do just fine, though they won't do much damage. My plan is out Garnet, as she has the weapon, and then before Fisher can pick it up, take him out with fists. Jasper probably won't even turn away from the girl. Simple.

I put a nail into the tube, and press my mouth to it. Wait, I tell myself. Just wait.

And then I take my opportunity. Exhaling in a gust into the dart, the nail shoots outward, and hits Garnet in the eye. Both Jasper and Fisher turn in the direction of the dart, and I spring out from behind the tree, punching Fisher in the face. He recoils and tries to grab Garnet's knife, but I jump, kicking out as I do, and finding his face. He falls to the ground, unconscious. I spin round the take out Jasper and rescue the little girl, when I hear a thud beside me, and some whimpering, and then there is a body on mine.

Jasper has lunged on me with his sword, and is pressing me down. I try to hold his arm back, and get him off me, but he's too strong. At least I died trying to help someone else. At least it wasn't all in vain.

His sword gets closer and closer to my throat, until it's pressed against my skin. Through gritted teeth, he snarls, "You're no Katniss Everdeen, are you Delly?"

I growl, and try to push him off. He laughs. "What? You thought you could be better than her? No. You're no mockingjay. Not at all. You're just a sad, stuck up little girl, who-"

He stops. His eyes roll back in his head, and his grip on me loosens. I blink, eyes widening, not knowing what's happened. Jasper falls on top of me, and I roll him off. A knife lies in his skull, right in his brain, I reckon. I look up, sure that this time I will die, but all I see is a boy, quite tall, with dark hair and grey eyes.

"I thought you weren't going to leave me." Cole says, holding his hand out to help me up.

"You kind of forget everything once a loud canon goes off and everyone's running for weapons to kill you with." I reply, and then we laugh. He hugs me, tightly, and I hug him back.

"The girl." I murmur, and I force my way out of Cole's arms quickly to see the little girl with fair hair, struggling to breathe as she battles against the gaping hole in her chest.

She gasps as I come near her, kneeling beside her. I pull her head into my lap, and Cole sits opposite me, holding her hand.

"You're so brave." I tell her, as she looks up at me. "You were so brave."

"I w- I was?" She asks.

I nod. "So brave. "

She smiles, and I smile back, tears threatening to spill onto my cheeks. She takes one last, ragged breath, and then falls still. I squeeze my eyes tight shut, and purse my lips, and I hear Cole sigh.

"Come on." He says eventually. "We can't stay here."

I nod, and lie the little girl down. I close her eyes, and clasp her hans together on her stomach. I brush a few strands of golden hair out of her face, and then stand up.

"Gather up these weapons." Cole says. "We can use them."

I nod, turning to pick up the blow dart, and listen to the canon as it booms over us.  



	22. Mutt

Pretty boring chapter. Sorry. I had no idea what to write. The next one will be better!

Once we had collected the weapons - my blow dart and sword, Cole's knife and Garnet's bow and arrows, we set off back to my cave. But when we get there, we find that it's gone.

"It was here." I say, frowning as I look at it. "It was right here."

"You're sure we haven't gone in the wrong direction?" He asks.

"Positive." I reply, frowning.

"Come on." He says eventually. "There's no point wasting time looking for it. We might as well find somewhere new, right?"

I nod. "Right."

We walk for a while, through the forest. We don't talk much, except the occasional warning of "watch that plant" or "Have you got the:_". We don't need to talk. We were just happy to have found eachother. Or I was happy to have found him, I didn't know if the reverse was true.

It begins to get dark quickly, and we have still found nowhere to sleep. We settle under a large tree, and because I've had a proper nights sleep the night before, I offer to take first watch. Cole stays up anyways.

"Are you thirsty?" I ask.

He nods. I hold out my water can to him. "I don't want to take yours..." He murmurs.

"I can get more." I say. "Just drink it."

He frowns slightly, and nods. He drinks for seemingly a long time, tipping his head back and glugging it down. But when he hands it back to me, it's still half full.

"You don't have any food, do you?" He asks.

I shake my head. He sighs. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning either. I take up the bow and arrows in the hope of being able to shoot an animal on it's way past our camp site.

"How many are dead?" Cole asks. He lies on his back with his arms folded behind his head. It feels so casual, just the two of us sat here, when really we could be shot at, stabbed or killed at any moment.

I try to count. "13. I think."

"So there's still 11 of us left." Cole mutters. I nod. "Great. Do you know who?"

"Daven, Aqua and Cora are still alive." I say. "I don't know where they are. Probably around the Cornucopia, or-"

Cole sits up, covering my mouth with his hand. He presses his finger to his lips, and looks at something over my shoulder. I keep my mouth shut,  
and he keeps his hand in place. I hear a twig snap a few meters away. Keeping his finger pressed to his lips, Cole takes his hand from the mouth and picks up the bow. He notches an arrow, and fires it.

"Agh!"

We gather our stuff quickly and move towards the sound. On the floor lies Fisher. Dead. Cole killed him with one shot.

"Nice shot." I murmur.

"Thanks." He huffs. "Come on. Let'sgo back to the shelter."

As we sit down, I hear the canon go off. "12." I say. "Day 2. 12 tributes remaining."

Cole laughs but I can tell it's forced. We sit in silence for a while, and I'm sure he's fallen asleep, when he says, "There's a snake in that tree."

"A snake?" I ask, looking up.

"Yeah, there." He says, and points.

I search for it, but all my eyes can see are the broad green leaves and pale brown tree branches. I frown. Cole comes and sits beside me, and points. "There. See?"

I nod. It's long, it' body about as thick as the tree branch it's sat on, and bright green. It's eyes are red. I have no idea whether it's natural or whether it's a mutt, but I'm guessing it's the latter. We watch it for a while, as it slither along the tree trunk.

"Reckon it's a mutt?" I ask Cole.

It's forked tongue flickers as it smels the air around us. I dn't know what it's smelling, but it doesn't seem to like it.

"No," he says. "I think it's natural."

And then, as if to prove him wrong, it grins, and pounces. 


	23. Sacrifice

I slash with my swrod, striking out, but the viper misses, flying straight past me and landing on the floor. It slithers towards us and we scramble up to our feet, leaving anything that isn't attached to our bodies behind. Apparently the snake is bigger than previously thought, because when he stands up on it's belly it's the same height as Cole, who's taller than me by a few inches. It glares at us, baring it's long, drippig fangs, and I know a bite from it will be fatal.

We ran, jumping over rocks and fallen branches. It seemed that the gamemakers were trying to get one of us killed - which of course, they were -  
as the path increased in difficulty as we continue on. I jump over a large, fallen branch, but Cole doesn't wuite make it, and he falls to the ground.

I skid to a halt, and see the snake recoil, ready to pounce.

"No!" i shriek, running back to him as fast as I can, but the leaves keep getting in my way.

As the snake lunges, I shut my eyes tight. I don't want to witness his death. But after a few minutes, I feel arms around me. Arms that shouldn't be there, but are.

"Are you okay, are you alright? Delly, are you okay?" Cole asks me, his eyes searching for some kind of wound on my body, but there isn't one.

"I'm fine." I gasp, clinging to him. "I'm fine. How are you- How aren't you-"

I see something twitch in the grass over his shoulder. A boy. A small-ish one. Peobably about 13 or 14 years old. I let go of Cole, who releases me immediately, and I sit next to him. I take his hand.

"If you see, if you see Mare, tell her, tell her-" The boy splutters, and for the first time I notice the huge, red gash on his leg, that was starting to turn green. "Tell her I didn't die for their entertainment. I saved him."

"I will." I say, nodding. "I will, I promise. Thank you." I blink away tears and try not to let my voice crack. "Thank you so muhc for saving him. You are AMAZING."

He smiles slightly, and then he coughs violently, shakes, and goes limp. His blue eyes stare at the canopy, and I close them, closing my own eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Did you kill it?" I ask.

Cole nods at the snake in the leaves. It has been cut in half, with it's bottom half still twitching amongst the branches, it's top half seeping green goo. We get up, but decide to leave our lost weapons behind. Cole goes to take a step, and immediately falls to the ground in pain. He clutches at his left ankle, and groans in pain.

"Let me see." I murmur, but he ignores me. "Let me SEE."

Slowly, he relaxes, and I look at his ankle. It had been cut open slightly, and I had a feeling it was broken. "Here. Lean on me." I say, helping him up. He nods, and I hold my arm around him, holding him up. He's heavy, but I know we have to move. We're too exposed.

"Just leave me." He grunts after a few yards. "I'm slowing you down."

"I don't care." I say. "I've already left you once, I'm not doing it again."

He grunts again, something I can't make out, and so I dsimiss it, carrying him on through the jungle. 


	24. Attack

Cole gives out another grunt as I pull him to the edge of the forest. From here I can see the Cornucopia, but most importantly, I can see what's left of the careers. Aqua sits in the Cornucopia, by herself, and I assume Daven and Cora are inside or off killing another tribute. I hide behind a tree at the point where the sand meets the trees, and wait for my opportunity.

I'm about to leap onto the sand in full sprint, when a girl, about 15 years old, weilding a hefty axe, sprinted across the sand from the dunes. She aimed for Aqua, who threw a knife she was holding at the girl. She missed, and the two wrestled for a while. This was my chance. I was aout to sprint across the sand when I was pulled back by the back of my vest top onto the sand.

Cora's on top of me, a mop of ginger hair flying into my face. That could only mean that Daven was about to hit me from above, but I couldn't see him. The knife in Cora's hand is positioned over my stomach, and it takes all of my strength to roll her off of me, pinning her to the ground. She rolls over again, however, pinning me to the ground and pushing my shoulders back so hard I think she may break the bones.

I lift up my legs, and kick out at her stomach, and she goes flying backwards. She lands with a thud in the sand a few metres away, and I just have time to stand up before she comes baralling back towards me. She slashes with her knife, but she misses, and I grab her arm, trying to force the kinfe out of her hand. Instead she head butts me, and I go flailing backwards, hitting the base of the tree behind me.

My vision is swimming, and I try to stand up, but I sink back down to the ground. I crawl to my knees and pull myself to my feet. I punch out, but I'm still dizzy and Cora raises her dagger-

But I'm not hit. I watch as she looks at me, eyes wide, and then down. She has a sword sticking out of her side. How? I don't dare question it as she falls to the ground, gasping and shaking. I hear a grunt behind me, and only one word goes through my mind.

Cole.

But when I spin round, it is not the familiar pair of dark eyes and brown hair I'm met with, but a pair of emerald green eyes, glistening and bright,  
and spiked blonde hair.

Daven crumples to the ground, a dagger sticking from his chest, just below his lung. I catch him, but he's too heavy, and we both fall to the floor.

"You're-" Daven gulps in air, but his throat is dry, and rasping. "You're okay?"

I nod. His head is nestled in my lap, and I look down at him. "I'm fine." I shake my head. "Why did you do it, Daven?"

"You're good." He gasps. His breathing is getting shallower. "You're better than her, better than she ever was. You have to win. There's just the three of you, now, you HAVE to win. You have to help her. She can't fly by herself." His eyes searched mine, and I nodded.

"Of course. I will. For you. Daven-" He's sleeping, quickly losing life. "Daven, look at me." His eyes are unfocused, but they manage to find mine.  
"Daven, thank you. Daven-" I move his head so he can see me. "I owe you."

He nods, and laughs, but it turns into a rough cough, and I know that any second now, he'll be gone. I kiss his forehead, hold his hand, and wait.  
He smiles slightly, and after a few moments, he slips away.

"Delly." Cole whispers from his tree a few yards away. I've been sat looking at Daven's lifeless body for longer than is normal. But I don't care. I need to try and figure out why he did it. Why he would die for me. A girl, from District 12.

"She can't fly by herself." He'd said. What did that mean? That he was talking about Katniss, I was certain, but that made no sense. Then Cole said more urgently, "Delly!"

I srand up to see Aqua looking at me, a streak of blood running from the top of her forehead to her chin glistening in the setting sun. I gulp.

"Cole. Come on. We're going. Cole!" I run to the tree and help him down, but just as we are about to run into the forest to escape her, we are met by a wall of orange heat. We fly backwards, stumbling, but keeping our balance.

The jungle is on fire. 


	25. Finale

We have no choice - be burnt alive, or face our death at the Cornucopia. With a chance of survival at the Cornucopia, we turn towards it. Aqua is standing where she is, and for a moment, I'm not sure why. Why doesn't she run at us, push us through the wall of flames and claim victory?

"Scorpion." Cole murmurs, looking at the sand.

I look down at the golden grains, clinting in the sand, and see that they're shifting. Not all of them. Certain places shift at certain times, seemingly in a circle. It was a giant Scorpion, just the one, and it was sitting underneath the sand.

"It's going in a circle." I say. "It's under the sand, it'll be able to feel our footprints, but it can only go forward, so we have to go just after it reaches were we are, okay? It can't get under the leaves, I reckon, so we're safe for now."

Cole nods, and I know he isn't up for much running, but we position ourselves at the end of the forest.

As the mutt crcles past us, I see the spine of it's tail sticking out of the sand, and when it's a few yards past me, I nod to Cole.

We sprint forward, and Aqua obviously isn't expecting us, as she stumbles back into the sand. I haven't told Cole this part of the plan, but I intend on getting him on top of the Cornucopia and out of harm's way.

Aqua is still getting her bearings as I left Cole onto the Cornucopia, despite his protestations. But he doesn't come down, and I grab a sword from the sand.

"I saw what Daven did for you." Aqua said, getting to her feet and grabbing an axe. "How sweet. He never said anything about you. Makes me wonder how many other admirers _died_ for you this week."

She grinned, her sea green eyes fixing mine. She slashed forward with her axe, but I'm expecting her, and I slash my sword upwards with so much force that it slices the head off.

Aqua laughs. "Where did you get your training from, _Delly_?" She mocks me as she picks up a sword. "No one in District 12 is as good as you are.  
So where? Go on, _enlighten me_."

Before I can "enlighten her" I see the Scorpion tail rise out of the ground, and realise that it's coming out of the sand. My eyes widen, and I run to the Cornucopia, allowing a terrified Cole to help me up onto the shiny, hot surface.

"That's right!" Aqua laughs maniacally. "Run! Run back to your boy, who's going to _die_ anyways! It's you or him, Cartwright, you or-" She's cut off by the mutt stinging her through the back, skewring her on it's barb.

"Shoot it." I murmur to Cole, ut it turns into a shriek. "Shoot it!"

"Don't do me any favours." Aqua says through gritted teeth, and she takes up her own bow and arrows. Just as Cole shoots the mutt, which recoils into the sand, Aqua fires her own arrow.

"Agh!" I hear the grunt from behind me as I watch Aqua flop to the ground. The canon goes off, and I know she's gone.

"Cole?" I frown. "Cole!"

And then I see the arrow that's sticking out from his chest.


	26. Death and Victory

He gasps, struggling for air, and falls into my lap. "Cole!" I shriek, holding his head in my lap.

"I'm..." His voice is raspy, and I know he's having trouble breathing. "...fine."

Tears are already leaking onto my cheeks, and I try to help him. He shakes me off. "Don't." He says. "You're meant to win."

I sniffle, and hold his hand tightly. It's getting dark.

"I always had a crush on you, you know." Cole says. I look down at him, not replying. "Since we were little. I can remember you and Peeta drawing with chalks on the pavement, and wanting to join in, but..." he shakes his head and gives me a weak smile.

I don't know what to say. Seemingly I've been good at comforting the dying, but all thoughts of speech are gone. I deicde to make him as happy as I can possibly make him in these last few minutes, even if I am lying.

"I always liked you too." I murmured back. "The first time I realised was when were in school, and I spilled my dinner, remember? And you gave me half of yours because I didn't have the money for any more. You were so lovely to me." I smile.

"You - You did?" Cole asked, a cough breaking his sentence. "What about Gale?"

I smile, and brush the hair out of his face. It's taking everything I have not to cry. "Nothing. Gale's my friend."

Cole frowned, as if this confused him, and another cough rattled his body. I sueeze my eyes tight shut, and decide on what I should do. I lean down, quickly, before I can back out, and press my lips to Cole's.

He flinches, stunned, and then kisses me back. His lips are soft, though they've been parched of water for days, but they're cold. Colder than they should be. I kiss him harder, trying to urge him to cling on.

It must be well into night time now, and I decide that we should sleep. Cole looks at me as if I'm mad, but he doesn't object. Especially not when I nestle myelf between his arm, and his shoulder, resting my head on his chest.

"You always had a beautiful voice." He murmurs. "Sing for me?"

"What should I sing?" I reply.

He thinks for a moment. "Sing The Meadow Song."

I clear my throat, and begin.

_"Deep in the meadow, under the willow_

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow _

_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes _

_And when again they open, the sun will rise."_

Cole smiles, I smile I've only ever seen a few times in my life, and one I'm sure I've never experienced before - pure bliss. I pause, and his smile lessens slightly, so I carry on,

_"Here it s safe, here it s warm _

_Here the daisies guard you from every harm _

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true _

_Here is the place where I love you."_

"Delly?" Cole murmurs, his voice barely audible.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Find Gale." He says. "Be happy. I love you."

A tears slides down my cheek. "I love you too." I reply, trying not to let the tears effect my voice. I carry on singing,

_"Deep in the meadow, hidden far away _

_A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray_

_ Forget your woes and let your troubles lay_

_ And when again it s morning, they ll wash away._

_Here it s safe, here it s warm_

_Here the daisies guard you from every harm _

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true _

_Here is the place where I love you."_

Cole's body shudders, and I grip him tighter, feeling his body become completely still. The canon sounds.

"We have this year's victor," Claudius Templesmith announced. "Dahlia Cartwright!"

I sit up, looking at nothing but Cole. Tears stream down my face at an alarming rate, and I choke out a sob. "Cole." I croak. "Cole!" I sob uncontrollably, not exactly the thing you want to see from a victor. I press my forehead to his chest, clinging to his shirt. "Cole." I sob into his shirt. I hear a metallic noise from above me, and see the hovercraft landing. Two peacekeeprs get out, and march to the Cornucopia.

"Come down." One of them orders.

I ignore them, and turn back to Cole, my body shaking with sobs.

I am being dragged from the top of the Cornucopia, kicking and screaming by the Peacekeepers, screaming "Cole!" As loud as I can. I look for him sitting up, looking at me with his dark grey eyes or running his hand through his brown hair, but I see nothing. He doesn't move. So I allow myelf to be dragged into the hovercraft, still sobbing and wailing, about to be taken off to the Capitol, to be crowned as Dahlia Cartwright, victor of the 76th Annual Hunger games.


End file.
